patio ideas??

hi to all the DIY'ers out there!

wife and i have a end row in philly and we have a nice wrap around yard for the city and out back of the house there is a concrete patio that was already there when we bought the house its about 10x10. well its not doing to good and we have decided to remove it and put in another patio.

so i am looking for some suggestions for what we should do. we want patio there and we want it bigger because we have found that with a table and 4 chairs and a grill it takes up all the space and its uncomfertable to sit and even just to walk around so the space is not right for what we wanna do.

i was looking at some diff options already and like all DIY ppl out there money is always a factor. so i have found some cool products that are out there that i think would look great but my wife whats to put outdoor tile out there. (side note she is from Spain) they have beauitful tiles over there that are for patios but when we came back to the states i couldnt find any outdoor tile. we went on vaca to spain over the summer to vist her parents.

so we have 3 options that we have agreeded could work for the patio.

op-1 pour in a concrete patio and leave it?

op-2 pour a concrete slab and then tile with outdoor tile but where can i get outdoor tile??

op-3 use the quikcrete concrete walk@maker forms the european patern? and if anybody has used these forms and can tell me if u had any luck with them?

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patio ideas??

You may have to dig for the variety of outdoor tile you find in Spain but it is available. When practicing landscape design in California, I found beautiful landscape tiles out of Mexico. Rather than pouring concrete under tile, I would think about something more forgiving for a base like compacted gravel and sand.

Let me say up front that in my opinion stamping a large area of concrete is not a do it yourself project. You should consult with an artisan that may have the number of molds needed (you will need many for a patio), knows how to order the proper slump to the concrete, can color it to just what you want, and will be adept at mold releases and finishing the stamped pattern. It all has to happen quickly within a small time window for a patio. I would hate to see it get away from you and you end up having to chip out and toss a new patio attempt.

Another approach I would encourage you to explore if budget is an issue is simulating tile and grout with a nicely poured slab and concrete stains. Again, a concrete artisan is probably in your future although this could be a diy project I guess. These images show stained interior concrete floors but no reason they could not be outside although you would want some tooth to them so as not to create an ice rink surface. You might combine a stamped pattern you like with colorants and staining?

Have you scaled out your yard on paper? I think you will find it handy to have a scaled drawing for many reasons. And, if you are chipping out the old patio, be sure and think about adding any low voltage lighting, drip irrigation supply lines, or firepit gas lines you might want now or later under the new pour?

I loved Philly enough to almost take on a residence in Olde City once. Brotherly Love and all that. Got caught in a battle between the historical preservation folks and the City for no reason and was just not willing to bribe my way out of it. I do miss spending time in the place.

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patio ideas??

thanks for the reply

my guess is that they wanted a pay off because that area has come up in the last few years and row homes down there are selling for 3,4,5 hundred thouhsand its unreal. olde city and northern liberties homes are selling for unreal prices.

now back to topic
we had and hardscaping guy come out to put pavers down he wanted 10,500 for the job. and then we had a concrete stamping guy come out he wanted 8000 i didnt know 252sqft patio was alot for pouring and stamping.

when i put pouring down as a option i meant just pouring 4 sections of concrete with a cross in the middle like you would see in the standerd books at lowes or home depot.

the type of tile my wife wants would be put down with motar its not a floating type of outdoor stone or tile they wouldnt be heavy enough to stay. so i would have to pour some sort of slab and then tile.

patio ideas??

Everybody made fun of me for even considering dumping any money in Olde City around 1990 as the first of galleries were just emerging and it was not a place you wanted to walk around at night I guess. I should have stuck with the project. It was in an old chocolate factory right behind Christ Church. My friends were a bunch of Rittenhouse Square or Chestnut Hills snobs though. I was commuting between NYC and DC and Philadelphia made great sense cost wise and for convenience sake.

Anyhow, I guess pouring a slab is your best option but hopefully someone will chime in with odds of success for thinset and mortared tile in the Philadelphia climate. I fear set outdoor tiles could turn relatively high maintenance on you. Hopfefully not. Some others are not wild about them but I have specified rubber tiles in European designs for clients and they have been pleased. They come in many colors and patterns including cobblestones, bricks, squares, rectangles and so forth. They are easy to install, replace and maintain. They are popular and used extensively around horse tracks because they are easier on the horses.

patio ideas??

I can imagine how beautiful those tiles must have been and the desire to have them in your landscape but I don't think your climate would be very nice to them.
Consider sections of concrete with pavers worked into it.
A solid paver patio with some nice planting urns and pots that have the colors and the look of old world Spain will also help deliver the look your after.
They make some very nice old world cobble pavers that have a nice "feel" to them.
I also did a patio once for a couple that was made of concrete tiles. They were a slate blue, textured and came in 16x16 and 24x16. It was a great look.